Chapter 21
“Hmph, we’ll see about that.”
Hannibal shot Anne a mocking look as he passed by Victoria, then turned and walked straight out of the parlor.
Watching his retreating figure made Anne sigh involuntarily. Meanwhile, Victoria stood there, her hands clasped tightly as she scratched nervously at her fingernails, trembling.
“Do I have to tell the young lords everything I’ve done? I can’t. I can’t meet anyone like that.”
“Why not? Is it because those rumors about Count Claid originated from you, Miss Victoria?”
When she was little, she used to throw tantrums to drive people away, and as she grew up, she beat and even killed people herself.
Victoria Claid was infamous for her violent and cruel nature.
However, she was the type to dirty her own hands—never pretending to be clean by letting others do the dirty work for her like many nobles did.
“Yes. I did it all. I thought there should never be anyone else to stain the Claid name or taint our family bloodline. But if people find out about what I’ve done, which noble—who in this world—would ever love me?”
Victoria buried her face in her hands and began to sob loudly. Anne stepped closer to her.
“Then start by loving first. Express affection for the things and people you cherish. If you surround yourself with things you love, the things you hate will naturally fade away.”
You didn’t have to kill or erase something just because you hated it or resented it.
Anne wanted to reawaken Victoria’s warmth and kindness.
When she gently patted Victoria’s shoulder, the young woman clung to Anne’s waist and hugged her. With her face buried and sobbing, she looked just like a child, and Anne embraced her silently.
Victoria hadn’t yet learned how to be comforted, or how to be loved.
She’d grown up seeing and hearing only savage things—border skirmishes, seasonal monster subjugation battles, and war.
It was the environment she grew up in that shaped her way of thinking and behavior more than anything.
“Waaah—Anne, what if I never get married?”
A twenty-year-old woman crying so honestly felt, in many ways, far more innocent than all the monstrous people in the capital.
“It’s okay. You’ll get married. I’ll make sure you do.”
She had beauty, a prestigious noble lineage—what couldn’t she do?
Anne was determined to find a man who would embrace the prickly interior of this hedgehog-like noble lady and see her happily married.
It wasn’t so bad to have a grand goal during her time working as a maid at Tegenes.
Besides, if Victoria got married, Anne’s salary would double. Not to mention the hefty bonus that would come with it.
No, maybe she could even ask for a lump sum retirement bonus and walk away completely.
Anne patted Victoria’s back gently, dreaming of a successful retirement and independent life.
It was spring, and warm breezes blew.
The monsters were quiet, and Hannibal enjoyed peaceful days at the lord’s estate while receiving regular reports.
“For once, she’s quietly sitting and sipping tea. Victoria, I mean. She looked stunning. I almost fell for her myself.”
Oliver entered Hannibal’s personal office and let out a long sigh.
“Anyone would be fooled who didn’t know better. I’ll make sure she’s married off this year.”
Though Oliver smiled in relief for his friend, Hannibal didn’t smile back.
Knock knock. With a knock, Jack, the attendant, entered.
“These are the documents you requested.”
“This is the background report?”
Inside the envelope were only three sheets of paper.
“I contacted the capital guilds directly for this. Truthfully, there’s not much to track regarding Anne Ferro, but should I dig further?”
“What about the informant in the Duke’s household?”
“No updates yet.”
“Keep reporting regularly.”
“Yes, sir.”
After Jack left, Hannibal read through the documents thoroughly. Oliver glanced over his shoulder, quickly losing interest due to the mundane content.
“She’s just a maid. Being the niece of a noble family’s governess, she’d know proper etiquette. Isn’t it time you stopped suspecting her? She hasn’t done anything strange since she arrived. Why would the Duke of Benton send a spy to Claid anyway?”
“Then why push for her to be head maid? And the way she handles Victoria is suspicious.”
He remembered how Anne confidently calmed Victoria down and even mentioned throwing a party to invite noble young men. She clearly understood how power worked.
That’s why Hannibal continued to keep a close eye on her.
He even received daily reports on her busy schedule, aside from her sleep.
“She’s not just any maid. Definitely not.”
“She supposedly worked as an attendant, too. Oh—!”
Oliver’s eyes lit up as he reached the summary on the third page. Hannibal’s eyes stopped there as well.
“She fell out of favor with the Duchess due to a scandal with the Duke’s second son?”
“So that’s why she got kicked out.”
A mere maid involved in a scandal with the Duke’s son? Hannibal let out a dry laugh, finally discovering why she’d been exiled.
“She was fourteen? What kind of scandal is that? Ridiculous.”
As Hannibal muttered while scanning the page, Oliver picked up the sheet he’d finished reading and added,
“That’s a perfect age to catch first love fever.”
Oliver quickly covered his mouth, sensing Hannibal’s eyes sharpen.
“Get out.”
“Yes—sorry!”
“I said, get out.”
Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, Oliver hurried out of the office.
“You still get so touchy about it. Tsk.”
Muttering to himself, Oliver clicked his tongue as he walked down the hallway.
Meanwhile, back in his office, Claid tried to suppress his sour expression and called Jack back in.
“Dig deeper into the inner workings of the Benton family.”
“Yes, sir.”
Compared to the fourteen-year-old Gray Benton, Anne Ferro had been eighteen at the time. Not too young to know nothing.
Her sudden arrival with a recommendation for head maid, and then quickly becoming Victoria’s governess despite May already holding the maid leadership position—all of it might have been part of her plan.
The capital had been quiet for a while, after all.
Hannibal scowled at the name written at the top of the paper in his hand.
He recalled Anne Ferro’s calm and refined face, and the challenging glint in her eyes.
She was pretty. With an elegance that didn’t seem fit for a maid, he found himself drawn to her without meaning to.
He remembered how he had stopped in his tracks outside the parlor one evening, drawn by a voice so gentle and kind—a rarity in the estate.
Though she knew noble etiquette, the way she humbly and gently taught and guided Victoria—not with the arrogance of noble ladies—had left a strong impression on him.
“Can’t let myself be fooled.”
A fourteen-year-old boy might have been swayed by her gentle face and warm smile, but not him.
At 22, Hannibal Claid vowed not to be deceived.
If Victoria somehow succeeded in charming a noble and got married, then Anne Ferro’s true intentions would be revealed.
Until then, he would keep watching her with suspicion.
But unexpectedly, Hannibal soon got a glimpse into Anne Ferro’s inner self.
Anne Ferro was impossibly busy.
It was already the end of March, and Victoria’s birthday was less than four months away. On top of her maid duties, she had to help prepare for the party.
Fortunately, Victoria had become composed enough to hold proper conversations.
“My lady, you need to pick topics that won’t make the other person uncomfortable.”
“How am I supposed to know who it is?!”
“Who would you like it to be?”
“The young lord of Count Sandor. I only saw him once, but he was handsome. They say he’s so popular, he’s always surrounded by women.”
“Then start with something about Sandor’s local specialties.”
“I tried mangoes from Sandor once—they were really tasty.”
“Yes! That’s perfect, my lady!”
“Anne, did you know? If you hit someone with a mango, they’ll faint but not die. The seed inside is hard, so it’s great as a weapon.”
“My lady!”
Sometimes, Victoria had become cheeky enough to tease Anne.
As spring passed and she continued to guide Victoria, Anne completely forgot about Matilda.
She had been so focused on Victoria Claid—and overwhelmed with extra maid duties and party prep—that she didn’t think about her.
Still, she assumed Matilda was fine, now living comfortably as a servant without being exposed to violence.
Then one night, Anne had an unusually restless sleep.
As soon as she awoke early that morning, someone pounded aggressively on her door.
“Who is it?”
When she opened the door, May greeted her with a frightening expression.
“Head maid? What’s going on—?”
“From today, you’ll be taking care of the woman in the small room.”
The woman in the small room meant Matilda.
“I’m serving Miss Victoria, Head Maid.”
“Except during her etiquette lessons, you’ll stay with that woman.”
“But I also have to clean the annex, do the laundry, sweep the front yard, and run errands for the butler.”
“I’ll take you off those.”
“…Is something wrong?”
This was the same woman who used to lash out at both her and Matilda just for being from the capital. May’s expression was far from normal.
“She had a miscarriage.”
Without her usual sarcasm or antagonism, May quietly looked at the now-pale Anne and spoke.
“She says she can’t trust anyone else here, so it has to be you.”
“How… how did this happen…”
Anne, who had assumed Matilda was doing fine, was struck with shock by the unexpected news.
“The doctor says it was a natural miscarriage. But still… she hasn’t bothered anyone lately, not even Miss Victoria. Yet she keeps blaming us.”
